A local celebration of Greek culture and traditions returns this weekend with dancing, food and music.
The Yassou Greek Festival, which began Friday afternoon, will be held at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Bloomfield Hills.
The festival continues until Saturday and Sunday night.
“It should be a great three-day event, we have 150 volunteers helping us and it looks like we’re going to have great weather,” said festival co-chair Cathy Sheiko.
Musical acts on the bill include Detroit Greek band Enigma, the Dave Bennett Quartet, St. George’s Orthodox Church folk dancers and the Magic Bus Band — a Woodstock-style band new to the festival this year. There will also be food vendors and an artisan market to browse.
Sheiko said there are plenty of activities for children and adults, including a magic show, cooking demonstrations and the chance to learn Greek dances each day of the festival.
“I have two grandchildren and they are dancers, so I’m looking forward to seeing my 8-year-old and 14-year-old because they’ve been learning Greek dance since they were little girls.” said “It’s exciting for me to watch them do what I did as a kid and carry on the legacy that my parents taught me as a kid.”
This year’s festival is the second to be held after the pandemic. Sheiko said the 2022 festival had a big crowd, so he hopes it will be the same this year. It’s a family tradition for some people, he added.
“I think the reason most volunteers come back is because they grew up in our Greek church and in our Greek culture, and they want to have the same for their children and grandchildren,” he said. .
A full schedule of events can be found here online.
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